Ronald Dworkin: Equality

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Ronald Dworkin: Equality

Post by mdsimpson92 » Tue Jul 09, 2013 5:50 pm

Reading "Sovereign Virtue" right now (as well as a biographies on Stalin and Mao, Mao biography is turning out to be a big dissapointment). and this current work is dealing with the theory and practice of equality. I think this might be worth discussing. Granted I am just getting started, but if anyone has already read Dworkin or would like to start anyways, I would be happy to follow up on it.
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Re: Ronald Dworkin: Equality

Post by Metacrock » Wed Jul 10, 2013 6:54 am

mdsimpson92 wrote:Reading "Sovereign Virtue" right now (as well as a biographies on Stalin and Mao, Mao biography is turning out to be a big dissapointment). and this current work is dealing with the theory and practice of equality. I think this might be worth discussing. Granted I am just getting started, but if anyone has already read Dworkin or would like to start anyways, I would be happy to follow up on it.

give us a clue. what does he say?
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Re: Ronald Dworkin: Equality

Post by mdsimpson92 » Wed Jul 10, 2013 10:25 am

I haven't really started, but this is part of the summary intro in the book.
What distribution of a nation’s wealth is demanded by equal concern for all? Dworkin draws upon two fundamental humanist principles—first, it is of equal objective importance that all human lives flourish, and second, each person is responsible for defining and achieving the flourishing of his or her own life—to ground his well-known thesis that true equality means equality in the value of the resources that each person commands, not in the success he or she achieves. Equality, freedom, and individual responsibility are therefore not in conflict, but flow from and into one another as facets of the same humanist conception of life and politics. Since no abstract political theory can be understood except in the context of actual and complex political issues, Dworkin develops his thesis by applying it to heated contemporary controversies about the distribution of health care, unemployment benefits, campaign finance reform, affirmative action, assisted suicide, and genetic engineering.
In truth I have just started on it. That being said, he seems to talk about two different kinds of equality, equality of distribution, and equality in application under the law so far. I will go further into it as we go in.

On a different note one thing he does mention is a sort of "new" liberalism that might be popping up. One that may seek to reconcile some of the old conservative ideals of self-sufficiency. Give me a bit I'm also reading a biography on Stalin. I can start a thread on him as well if you like.
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Re: Ronald Dworkin: Equality

Post by met » Wed Jul 10, 2013 5:22 pm

mdsimpson92 wrote:the old conservative ideals of self-sufficiency
as opposed to the "new" conservative ideas of dependence on corporations and multibillioniares?
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Re: Ronald Dworkin: Equality

Post by Metacrock » Thu Jul 11, 2013 5:36 am

met wrote:
mdsimpson92 wrote:the old conservative ideals of self-sufficiency
as opposed to the "new" conservative ideas of dependence on corporations and multibillioniares?
ahahahahahahaah!!!!! :mrgreen: :D
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Re: Ronald Dworkin: Equality

Post by mdsimpson92 » Thu Jul 11, 2013 12:30 pm

Cheap shot! ;)

Even then there is that idea of the "entrepreneur" and the ideal of the self-made man.
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Re: Ronald Dworkin: Equality

Post by met » Thu Jul 11, 2013 5:35 pm

interestingly, i didn't mean to make a crack really, just wanted clarification. :?


Could liberalism try to fill in the 'prefer small' category vacated by conservatives? Kind of like preferring 'small' everything - businesses & gov't. The neo-hippie granola self-reliant "make my own localized eco-friendly living, my way" type. I think I am one, "yeah, I could kick your ass, but would rather do yoga..... "

Is that what you meant?
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Re: Ronald Dworkin: Equality

Post by Metacrock » Fri Jul 12, 2013 6:28 am

met wrote:interestingly, i didn't mean to make a crack really, just wanted clarification. :?


Could liberalism try to fill in the 'prefer small' category vacated by conservatives? Kind of like preferring 'small' everything - businesses & gov't. The neo-hippie granola self-reliant "make my own localized eco-friendly living, my way" type. I think I am one, "yeah, I could kick your ass, but would rather do yoga..... "

Is that what you meant?
I don't think that will ever had wide appeal. I see the kids today, they are all so badly behaved compared to kids of my day. We know how to conduct riots in a good sense of decorum. Look at the Chicago riots. now there was a riot.
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Re: Ronald Dworkin: Equality

Post by mdsimpson92 » Fri Jul 12, 2013 3:51 pm

We would probably just blog about it.
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Re: Ronald Dworkin: Equality

Post by Metacrock » Sun Jul 14, 2013 2:43 pm

mdsimpson92 wrote:We would probably just blog about it.
ahahah exactly! :D
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